We are delighted to announce that our partners will be presenting the BioICEP project at the 13th Panhellenic Scientific Conference on Chemical Engineering in Patra, Greece. Posters titled: “High-throughput screening assay for the discovery of novel PETase enzymes” and “Discovery of Novel Polyesterases Capable to Degrade Plastic Waste” resulted in the cooperation of NTUA and IMGGE partners.

The Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras undertakes the organization of the 13th Panhellenic Scientific Conference (13th PESHM). The efforts of the conference will focus on the promotion of the interdisciplinary fields of Chemical Engineering, as well as the current trends with the latest developments and research in the field of biological/biochemical engineering, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, electrochemistry, applied chemistry, nanoparticles, sustainable and sustainable development, safety and hygiene in chemical processes, and efforts to protect the environment and reduce activities that affect climate change around the world.  In parallel with these activities, our participants will have an opportunity to discuss the current situation and the future of training and employment of Chemical Engineers in Greece and the world, in the particularly difficult current conditions as well as ways of good cooperation.

More information about this event can be found here. 

The annual meeting of science, technology and innovation in Portugal, took place this year on the 16th, 17th and 18th of May, at the Lisbon Congress Centre. The date of May 16, when National Scientists' Day is celebrated, could not be more suitable for this forum for debate and presentation of new ideas and partnerships. This was also the year in which Portugal celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Portuguese National Foundation for Science and Technology.

“Building the Future with Science” was the motto for the presentation of the main research themes that are at the heart of the R&D Units in Portugal and that reflect the central themes in world science today. This meeting also worked as a platform to stimulate interaction and dialogue between participants and to foster new interdisciplinary interactions. The guest country was Egypt, which actively participated in the meeting to represent official entities and scientific institutions.

As in previous years, Ciência 2022 was organised in different types of sessions, from plenary sessions to themes, as well as online communications, demonstrations and posters. The six plenary sessions covered the main themes associated with the missions of the European Union, which correspond to the global challenges facing humanity. These sessions were attended by internationally recognized speakers in their fields, and included, in particular, Portuguese and Egyptian speakers, with the aim of encouraging and deepening collaboration with Egypt.

The program included 6 plenary sessions, 66 parallel sessions, 225 communications, 52 demonstrations and a total of 400 speakers.

Dr. Sanja Jeremic was a guest at morning program on Serbian National Television talking about BioICEP project and raising awareness about plastic pollution in a response to recent reports of microplastics found in human bloodstream.

The topic of the episode was Plastics. It was an interesting talk with BioICEP and BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE. Both Horizon 2020 projects focused on the field of circular economy and innovation. Join the full episode here: video

Know PERPETUAL project. 

As the project turns two years old, one of the researchers of the project, Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic, PhD, from the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), answers some questions on the progress of the project.

How would you rate these first two years at a technical level with BioICEP?

I am really proud to be a part of this multidisciplinary team that has made remarkable progress toward BioICEP goals. I am really happy that we are attacking the global plastic waste problem from multiple directions (i.e. green mechanochemistry and biotechnology and trying to reach synergies between approaches). We have also set common grounds for addressing the hardest mixed plastic waste that everyone is trying to stay clear off.

What would you highlight from this second year?

Great communication between material scientists and microbiologists was established supported by some really excellent publications. Some new potent microorganisms and enzymes have been discovered and excellent tools for targeted screens of biocatalysts for plastic degradations have been established.

What are you looking forward to next year?

As I mentioned, I am looking forward to the challenge of working with mixed plastic waste samples, both pre-treated and untreated and to continued interaction with BioICEP consortium members. Looking forward to some in-person meetings.

On the 1st of March, on the occasion of the International Seminar on Biotechnology Applied to the Plastic Sector, experts from the BioICEP Project (Bio Innovation of a Circular Economy for Plastics) will discuss the objectives, progress and results up to date in the first workshop of the project.

Sharing the same goal and playing a key role, Pablo Ferrero, principal investigator from AIMPLAS, will introduce the BioICEP project on 1st March from 2:25 PM to 3 PM.

The workshop will take place within the framework of the seminar, which will address the challenges and opportunities introduced by biotechnology in the plastics sector, in terms of management and possible treatment of waste from the sector, and the trends and initiatives that are being implemented at an international level.

You can register here to attend the workshop and the seminar.

We are very proud to present to you our fourth Project Newsletter. Do not hesitate to download it in order to be updated with the latest news.
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21st European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry (EMEC) was held on November 30 – December 3, 2021 in Novi Sad, Serbia. This, already traditional, international meeting of researchers from all over the world was held at the Matica Srpska, one of the most important academic institution in Serbia. This conference covered a broad range of topics within the field of environmental chemistry, and interdisciplinary presentations with 150 posters and presentations and presenters from 15 different countries.

Our partners from NTUA have been awarded for the best poster presentation “Discovery of novel polyesterases capable of degrading a variety of synthetic polyesters”. Dr. Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic, our partner from IMGGE, held a Section Lecture tittled “Progressing Plastics Circularity: Mechano-Biocatalytic Approaches for Waste Plastic (Re)valorization (Overview and progress of BioICEP H2020 project)”. Jasmina’s talk can be found on the link, starting at 1:14:20

November 17th and 18th, will take place the Pollination Days 2021 an event organized by LOGOPLAST PARTNER, which this year will be dedicated to Sustainability & Innovation, Recycling, Regeneration, as well as Social Responsibility, covering all packaging ecosystems, providing us with a better understanding of this complex network.

In this event, will be presented BIOICEP PROJECT.

AIMPLAS, Plastics Technological Institute in Valencia, has organized the third edition of its international seminar Plastics are Future. The event will celebrate its next edition on October 6 and 7, with a hybrid format. This will allow attendees to access the sessions both in person, or from any other place via streaming.

The event will be developed through four differentiated blocks. In the first two, will take place during the first day, it is planned to discuss how plastic materials can respond to environmental challenges in sectors such as mobility or construction. Also, how polymers can help us fight against super resistant viruses or bacteria, as well as against diseases such as cancer. During the second day, innovative solutions for agricultural production and to guarantee food safety through packaging will be presented. The last of the blocks will be dedicated to the new concept of Industry 5.0.

In total, there are about twenty presentations that will be given by experts from research centers. This is the case with Fraunhofer; Cidetec; the UPV; TNO; Imdea; Public Health of the Generalitat Valenciana; AEBAM; the University of Warwick; Faith; Cajamar; the Inta and AIMPLAS. Professionals from companies such as Biofabrik, Lis Data and Finboot Tech will also take part.

For more info click here.

Dr. Jasmina Nikodinvic Runic presented BioICEP project and solutions for packaging circularity, in the TV show “Knowledge is power” (Radio Television of Serbia, Serbian public broadcaster).

The European Researchers' Night is a Europe-wide public event, which displays the diversity of science and its impact on citizens' daily lives in fun, inspiring ways! The 2021 edition takes place on 24 September in 29 countries. 

For more info, click here.

The Biotrans 2021 symposium provides the unique chance to bring the recent advances in biocatalysis research to every location in the world. Download the IMGGE abstract: "Towards novel PET-ases: Whole-cell biotransformation of PET-related substrates"

Due to the pandemic situation, ISBP2020/2021 and ESBP2021, the two major symposiums on biopolymers, are transformed into a weekly online international seminar series. To this end, group leaders, PhD students, company members working in the biopolymer field can present their results in a ≈ 30 min keynote lecture or in form of 10 min short lectures (two in a row per webinar).

Our friend Dr. Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic, presented her work on mcl-PHA films for biomedical applications.

Link to the recorded presentation.

Download the abstract.

The THESSALONIKI 2021 Conference aims to stimulate the interest of scientic community, competent authorities of public and private sector and inform them about the latest developments and achievements in the feld of solid waste management with special emphasis on municipal solid waste. Waste prevention, separation at source & recycling, biological Treatment (composting & anaerobic digestion), the treatment at central facilities constitute priority subjects of the conference agenda.

For more info click here.

Our friend Dr. Evangelos Topakas, from Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, will be in sessions Biocatalysis Session in the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Catalysis Sciences in 2021 (ECCS 2021), that will be hosted online at https://eccs2021.sciforum.net/.

10th Anniversary of Catalysts

The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of Catalysts, a peer-reviewed open access journal of catalysts and catalyzed reactions published monthly online by MDPI. Catalysts has published more than 4000 papers in the form of reviews, research papers, and communications. More than 700 of these papers have received over 10 citations. To celebrate this 10th anniversary, we are arranging a series comprising special content and events. We hope you will join us in celebrating this milestone of our journal and enjoy the collections below.

For more info: click

On June 24-25, took place the BioICEP Consortium Meeting, where were reviewed the project key achievements to date and the progress towards expected each work package.

We are very proud to present to you our third Project Newsletter. Do not hesitate to download it in order to be updated with the latest news.
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PhD students involved in BioICEP project have presented their work at EFB2021 virtual conference. EFB2021 is the major scientific conference organised by the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) with 81 speaker and 206 poster presentations. EFB is Europe’s non-profit federation of National Biotechnology Associations, Learned Societies, Universities, Scientific Institutes, Biotech Companies and individual biotechnologists working to promote biotechnology throughout Europe and beyond. As the independent “Voice of Biotechnology in Europe”, EFB promotes the safe, sustainable and beneficial use of fundamental research and innovation in life sciences, while providing a forum for interdisciplinary and international cooperation.

Hosted by leading postgraduate researchers who are studying across Limerick Institute of Technology, Mary Immaculate College, University Limerick and Athlone Institute of Technology, is a space where postgraduate students across all disciplines can share their research journey. It aims to support postgraduate researchers' intellectual and career development most notably through postgraduates' presentation seminars, poster pitches, well-being, research skills workshops, and moments outlining their experiences about life as a researcher. 

The Shannon Region Postgraduate Research Conference (SRPRC), hosted by leading postgraduate researchers who are studying across Limerick Institute of Technology, Mary Immaculate College, University Limerick and Athlone Institute of Technology, is a space where postgraduate students across all disciplines can share their research journey. It aims to support postgraduate researchers' intellectual and career development most notably through postgraduates' presentation seminars, poster pitches, well-being, research skills workshops, and moments outlining their experiences about life as a researcher. This year, SRPRC was held online on the 18th and 19th of May with 300 participants. Diana Garza, PhD researcher from Athlone Institute of Technology took a part in this conference and presented her work on BioICEP project winning award for the best use of graphics in poster section. Her poster was titled 'Microbes with the appetite for plastic: Exploring the enzymatic potential of the contaminated sites.

Download the presentation here.

Dr. Margaret Brennan Fournet (Material Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology) present at The Quest for Zero Polluting High Performance Plastics.

Check out all their evens here.

Dr. Margaret Brennan Fournet presented BioICEP on the online radio of Shannonside Radio live, which launched in 1989 together with its twin-station Northern Sound. She's been speaking to MaryClaire Grealy about the work of the Department and how they are working on making plastics such as packaging for our meat more sustainable.

Find the podcast Here

ECP4, The European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (https://www.ecp4.eu/) is pleased to announce that the Bi-Annual Conference "Strategic Research Needs for the European Plastics and Composites Industry" will take place on the 21st of April 2021 as a virtual event.

Building upon the success of previous years and after the publication in December 2020 of the “Sustainable Plastic Strategy”, ECP4 is happy to invite you to this conference that focuses on trends and solutions for the circularity challenges of many plastic industrial sectors.

Our collegue Dr. Margaret Brennan Fournet, Materials Research Centre, Athlone Institute of Technology, represented at the Irish Horizon Europe Launch event the success story of our project BioICEP.
Running from 2021-2027, Horizon Europe will be the most ambitious Research and Innovation programme in the world with a budget of €95 billion. 
Building on the achievements of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe offers a broad range of opportunities for Irish researchers, innovators and Irish companies of all sizes in the pursuit of new discoveries, scientific and technological advancement and innovation.
This event provided an overview of the Horizon Europe program and offered practical advice for researchers and innovators on how to submit competitive applications on Horizon Europe.

https://twitter.com/BioICEP_H2020

https://www.instagram.com/bioicep/

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BioICEP celebrate 1 year of life. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT DURING THIS FIRST YEAR.

We have asked some of the partners involved in the Project.

Pablo Ferrero from AIMPLAS:

• How would you rate this first year at a technical level with BioICEP? This first year has been a difficult year due to the pandemic situation, with a lot of laboratories and facilities closed because of COVID-19. But, in my opinion, everybody in the project has done a very high effort in order to overcome this circumstances, and at technical level we have increased our knowledge about the plastic biodegradation and plastic pretreatment, so this year has been a good point to start the project.
• What would you highlight from this first year? I would like to highlight the hard work of every partner to overcome the difficulties that we have found during this year with the pandemic situation. At technical level I would like to highlight the identification of new plastic degrader strains, the development of new pretreatment methods to increase biodegradation and the identification of strains to produce new valuable bioproducts.
• What are you looking forward to next year? For next year we will keep working in the pretreatment of plastic materials to increase and facilitate the biodegradation, so we hope to enhance the microbial degradation of different plastics material through these pretreatments.

We are very proud to present to you our second Project Newsletter. Do not hesitate to download it in order to be updated with the latest news.
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An international academic and industry research consortium securing €12 million across two EU and China funded projects targeting problematic multi-layered plastics.

Download the pdf version here.

BioICEP was presented at European Researcher's Night 2020 is annual event supported by EC:

https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/events/european-researchers-night-2020_en

As a part of Serbia's participation (https://www.nocistrazivaca.rs/), IMGEE presented the BioICEP project in the 'EU Corner' section.

Marija Mojicevic, from Athlone Institute of Technology will present BioICEP at Biocatalysis Open Day 2020.

Biocatalysis Open Day 2020 is an online event organised by The Biocatalysis Division of the European Federation of Biotechnology.

http://www.efbiotechnology.org/biocatalysis

Dr Marija Mojicevic has been awarded an ‘Oral presentation prize for early career scientists’ on FEMS (Federation of European Microbiological Societies) Conference on Microbiology for presentation of the latest BioInnovation of a Circular Economy for Plastics (BioICEP) results. The Presentation titled Plastic saga - The microbes strike back, gave an insight in global problem concerning plastic waste, but also presented microorganisms as a potentially useful solution.  Presented Results focused on isolation and identification of strains with the ability to produce enzymes relevant for plastic degradation. FEMS Conference on Microbiology In association with the Serbian Society for Microbiology (SSM) for the safety and welfare of attendees organized online, from 28 – 31 October 2020. FEMS is a pan-European scientific body dedicated to highlight the importance of science – and in particular microbiology within Europe. This high profile conference offers European, regional and local scientists, and in particular Early Career Scientists the opportunity to participate and avail of a wide range of networking opportunities and knowledge exchange experiences.

Winner : BioICEP ‘Postdoctoral Poster’ Dr Catherine Collins, Limerick Institute of Technology [LIT] Ireland:

Dr Catherine Collins is a Research Scientist at Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre in Limerick Institute of Technology. Her work focuses on exploring the role of fungi in the bioremediation of plastics as part of the Horizon 2020 BioICEP project https://www.bioicep.eu/. Catherine has a degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Fungal Biotechnology. She had worked on a number of fungal projects both in Ireland and the U.K. prior to joining Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre. While working at Shannon ABC, she has established her own research group which focuses on investigating mushrooms and fungi as functional foods and as sources of enzymes and other bioactives.

Winner : BioICEP ‘Postgraduate Poster’ Naiara Farias, Athlone Institute of Technology [AIT] Ireland:

Naiara has a Bachelor’s Hons Degree in Chemical Engineering from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro- UERJ (2017) and a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ / COPPE (2019), focusing on synthesis and kinetic modelling of cationic polymerization of polyolefins.  Following her Master of Science studies, she worked in a huge Brazilian petrochemical company, Braskem, as a researcher trainee under the technology and innovation department, being part of projects to develop new products and processes. Currently, she is undertaking a Ph.D. in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) focusing on the development of sustainable flexible packaging solutions using novel biodegradable and compostable polymer blends.

More info: https://fems2020belgrade.com/

Download the presentation here: 

The BioICEP consortium will present at its next meeting the selected posters of postgraduates and researchers from each of the partner institutes and organizations to present how their current research work is in line with or conforms to BioICEP's ambitions and objectives. The BioICEP Consortium fully supports collaboration, knowledge sharing and listening to the future talents of researchers to help in our mission to drive innovation and excellence for the BioICEP project.
Download all posters

We are very proud to present to you our first Project Newsletter. Do not hesitate to download it in order to be updated with the latest news.
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The search for an effective way of managing plastic waste has been the focus of scientific research for the past couple of decades. One of the most promising approaches is the enzymatic degradation of plastic and the retrieval of monomers or their upcycling. A large number of potential plastic-degrading enzymes have been identified in microorganisms, however, most of these enzymes are not nearly efficient enough to completely degrade plastic.

Download the presentation here

We live in the Age of Plastics. Synthetic plastics made our modern life possible being durable, lightweight, and processable. Nevertheless, the growing accumulation of plastic wastes has become a severe environmental and social issue. Recently, the improvement of plastic design and production to facilitate its re-use, repair, and recycling is a major concern, as noted in the Paris agreement on Climate Change, to decouple plastics production from fossil resources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving circularity and up-cycling of the existing plastics is a major challenge and EU-China flagship project BioICEP is tackling that challenge. Reports on biodegradation of synthetic plastics by microorganisms or enzymes have sprung up, and these offer a possibility to develop biological treatment technology for plastic wastes.

Download the presentation here

The BioICEP consortium wish to extend a call for posters to the postgraduate and research community within each of the partner Institutes and organisations to propose how their current research work is in line or fits with the ambitions and goals of BioICEP. The Consortium of BioICEP fully support collaboration, knowledge sharing and listening to the up and coming talent pipeline of researchers to assist in our mission to drive innovation and excellence for the BioICEP project.

BioICEP was presented at Presidents September Report from AIT, with a deep description and collecting the latest project updates, for instance, the mid-July meeting. 

On September 15, took place the BioICEP Consortium Meeting, where were reviewed the project key achievements to date and the progress towards expected each work package.

More info at http://www.mix-up.eu

Our friend Christos Argirusis from TU Clausthal participated in OpenEARTH Conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. The conference was organized by the BalkanROAD project “Towards farms with zero carbon-, waste- and water-footprint. Roadmap for sustainable management strategies for Balkan agricultural sector”, financed by the European Union and National Funds of the participating countries, within the framework of the “Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020 Programme”.

https://balkanroad.eu/conference/

Click for download the poster 

Our friend Christos Argirusis from TU Clausthal participated in OpenEARTH Conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. The conference was organized by the BalkanROAD project “Towards farms with zero carbon-, waste- and water-footprint. Roadmap for sustainable management strategies for Balkan agricultural sector”, financed by the European Union and National Funds of the participating countries, within the framework of the “Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020 Programme”.

More info: https://balkanroad.eu/conference/

Download the presentation here

Athlone Institute of Technology launched a brand new eco-initiative earlier this week with the intention of educating students, staff and the wider community about the circular economy and responsible consumption of plastic.

https://www.ait.ie/news-and-events/news/minister-kevin-boxer-moran-launches-ait-green-team-initiative